The Freedom Calculator

Have you ever wondered exactly how much money you need to retire? What about the amount you need to never have to work again? I would ponder these questions frequently, never really putting any numbers to it, and thought I needed tens of millions. Then I came to my senses after reading Tony Robbins book Money Master the Game.

In one particular chapter Tony describes how most people vastly overestimate the amount they need to be financially free. When people have these far-fetched notions of what it costs to be financially free, they lose motivation. So with the help of Tony Robbins, I put together a Freedom Calculator which allows you to estimate the amount needed for various financial goals; security, vitality, independence, freedom, and absolute financial freedom (there is a description of what each goal means in the comments on the spreadsheet). As long as you are realistic with the numbers you enter, you will have a realistic financial goal that will get you motivated, and feeling relieved that your financial goals are closer than you thought.

Fill in only the yellow cells with your specific numbers. The rest of the spreadsheet will calculate for you automatically.

Notice something very important on the spreadsheet; there are numerous cells that have comments (the small red triangles in the upper right hand corner of a cell). Please don’t forget to hover over the cell and read the comment, it will clarify a lot of questions.

Once you have chosen your financial goal and have your nest egg number, use that number to work backwards. With your new goal in mind, determine what you need to save to reach that goal and live the life you desire. A tool to help you determine the monthly/yearly savings required to reach your financial goal is the Contribution Calculator.

Again the Freedom Calculator will compute the sum of money (nest egg for example) you need so that the interest on that money supports your financial goal (security, vitality, etc.). The Contribution Calculator will give you the amount of money you need to save each month or year to reach that goal.

Don't forget: you can use real estate to reach your goals more quickly!